The need to combat childhood cancers
young patient
One in every 600 children under the age of 15 will develop cancer, which equates to approximately 1,500 new childhood cancer cases each year in the UK.
- Tragically, in the UK, cancer kills more children each year than any other disease, representing the highest cause of childhood mortality outside of accidental death
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Remarkable advances have been made over the last 50 years by modern medicine, with more children surviving cancer now than ever before. However, this has led to an environment in which children’s cancers, especially ‘hard to beat’ conditions, can be overlooked in terms of specialist research and care
- The reality is that research into rare and complex cancers must be seen as a priority area, so that current treatment protocols can be further advanced in order to improve existing survival rates and reduce the hugely damaging side effects that standard chemotherapy, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplant techniques carry
- The hospital is in the process of creating new clinical cancer facilities to cope with a significant increase in patient numbers (a 61% increase in childhood cancer referrals) following the recent closure of children’s cancer services at Barts and the London NHS Trust
- This new development has almost doubled Great Ormond Street Hospital’s activity in paediatric haematology and oncology, making us the largest children’s cancer centre outside the USA and placing us within the top three worldwide
